Homemade Oreos...

Do we make these way too much over here?!? ha.

You could do red, white, and blue sprinkles for the 4th for a Patriotic treat!

Recipe at: http://fabdoverlife.blogspot.com/2008/09/mmm-homemade-oreos.html

Making these right now... Pretzel Sparklers! Will post pics soon. :-)

4th of July Craft 4 Kids

Pulled this off The Crafting Chicks Website! Love it! My girlies will be thrilled to make this- looks easy with stuff we already have on hand. So festive and fun!

Here is a fun Kid’s Craft for your upcoming 4th of July Festivities-Summer Paper Lanterns, 4th of July Style.

Supplies You will need to make the Paper Lanterns:

-Cardstock in Red, White and Blue

-A ruler

-Scissors

-Star punch or Star Stickers

-A pencil

-Glue Sticks

-Festive Ribbon

-Stapler

Step One:

Fold your cardstock in Half Lengthwise. Then take your ruler and draw lines from the fold, leaving an inch from the end of your line and the edge. Leave about .75 inch on each side.Step 2: Have the kids cut on the line, stopping when the line ends, not through to the edge:) (This is great cutting practice)

*Little brother had to join…this photo is so funny because he has been wearing that monster hat (we have a green and pink one) for days…he refuses to take it off, even during nap time!

Step 3: Unfold your paper and then with the folded bumps on the outside, tun inward and attach at the top and bottom. Then staple both the top and bottom a couple of times.You should now have a paper lantern to decorate! I was thinking you could make these look Hawaiian by using bright colors and adding flowers, or if you are throwing a birthday party you could easily match these lanterns to your theme.We added stars by using punched out star shapes in red, white, blue, and silver. The kids just glued on the stars with gluesticks, but you could even purchase some star stickers.

We also added some festive ribbon on the top and bottom with a stapler and attached a 1 inch strip of cardstock for the handle.

And there you have it, a very easy kid’s craft for the summer…that you can even display in your home:)

While Their Parents Are Away...

The children will play!

Ger and I needed some time together- just a night or two away- it had been a crazy few months with Ger traveling a lot with work and a few trips with the YM- so Chris and Abby came to the rescue. Can I just say I think I have the best brother and sister in law ever!?! They not only said they would do it, but were SOOO excited to do it. Our kids absolutely adore them and were so thrilled that we were leaving- ha! But really, we feel so blessed to have Chris and Abby around. So instead of hanging out at the house all weekend... they lived it up and went to Canyon Lake! They handle our 4 kids with ease- impressive! Seriously.

They met up with Abby's parents and her brother Todd and sweet little Amy, who got along just great with Allie.

They had a picnic lunch...

Rode wave runners!

And played on the beach! They had the best time- absolutely loved waverunning. We have done tons of boating but never wave running so it was so exciting for them.

That night they headed to Carraba's for dinner! They loved it. Allie just loves Abby and Chris. Love her cheeser- so happy. Abby fixed the girlies hair so cute too...

I think the kids were all a little bummed out when we came home- ha! They had so much fun with Chris and Abby. And luckily Chris and Abby had so much fun with them too- phew. :-)

And we were ready to take anything on again! Whew! We had such a fun and relaxing time at the Four Seasons in Scottsdale- I think couples retreats even just for one night are essential! We hiked, went running, we laid by the pool, had some yummy meals, made a frozen yogurt run, chatted about summer plans, counted our many blesses, slept in, had a few spa treatments, strategized about what to do about certain issues with the kiddos, snuggled outside under the stars, and just totally refocused on our beautiful wonderful life. It's nice just to be able to take a deep breath like that and get rejuvenated overnight with just that time away.

So thanks so much again Chris and Abby!

Party Idea...

I never got around to posting a few pics of Allie's party decor so thought I would to give you all some fun ideas! We kept it simple and I really used everything I had around the house for it. The birthday sign didn't get done in time... but it turned out bright and fun!

Colby insisted I do the batter half pink and half white for the cupcakes... Mini ones are just perfect for any party- Michaels has a lot of cute options for the wrappers these days including the polka dot ones I used.

The kids were thrilled to help make these fun marshmellow pops. I dipped the tip of my stick in chocolate and then stuck the marshmellow on, but I'm sure the marshmellows are sticky enough they would stay on without that step. They are stuck in floral foam. (Like I said I literally threw everything together with stuff I already had- it was a bummer I didn't have mini m&m's for one top but I did have mini Reeses Pieces so that worked!)

We made lots of homemade playdough... threw some chalk we had in one jar... and I had 3-4 packages of crayons from the dollar store. Cheap and easy... but bright and fun and oh so entertaining for the kiddos.

Susie bought these adorable Whirly Pops online at Amazon for Easter and gave me some too- love them. Red licorace and Peanut M&M's were a def hit among the kiddos and adults alike. :-) (the bags were for the kids to decorate with their name etc. for the pinata)

Anyways! I could have done over the top labels, cupcake toppers, balloons, etc. but alas there is no time for fancy schmancy so it still turned out cute! I love checking out these two websites for party ideas...

http://www.thetomkatstudio.com/

http://www.hostessblog.com/

Corn Salsa and Spinach Dip

Need a yummy light summer appetizer for an upcoming pool party or BBQ? These are two of our favorites! I got the Corn Salsa years and years ago from Lena and the Spinach Dip has just been a favorite off the back of the package of Ranch Dips for a long time...

I would love to get your fav appetizer too!

Corn Salsa

1 can corn (I use frozen or fresh)

1 can black beans

5 Roma tomatoes

6 green onions

cilantro

2 avocados

1 pkg Italian dessing mix

1/4 cup vinegar

1/4 c. oil (you can omit this if you prefer)

Salt

Pepper

Drain and rinse corn, and black beans, and put in large bowl. Dice tomatoes and avocados; add to bowl. Chop green onions and add. Mince cilantro and add to taste. In a small bowl combine Italian dressing mix, and vinegar (and oil if you want), a dash of salt and pepper. Mix well. Pour over vegetable and bean mixture and stir. Serve with chips.

Ranch Dips Spinach Dip

1 Package Ranch Dips

16 oz. sour cream

1 package frozen spinach, thawed and chopped (or you can add fresh equivelant)

1 can water chestnuts, chopped

Mix ingredients and chill for one hour. Serve with crusty bread, crackers, pita chips, or veggies.

We MiSs MaRk, LiSSy & eVie!

A few months ago we were spoiled to have Melissa, Mark, and Evie come for a visit. We are missing them!!! They are some of our favorite people- so fun to have around! (The sad part about the trip is Allie had dropped my SLR and broken it! These pics are from our iPhones or small camera so not great and we just didn't take enough!)

We fine dined at Flemings...

So fun and yummy- Ger said one of his very favorite things to do is go to a nice dinner with some good friends and just enjoy great conversation. I have to agree!

And from fine dining to... school lunch! Yup, Lissy and Mark and Evie even spoiled the girlies by meeting up with them for lunch. It was so fun and the girls LOVED it.

Evie kept us laughing the entire trip with all her funny faces- she has like a zillion and she knew just how to make us all crack up.

Of course we had to dress the girlies alike several times throughout the week... though never took pics! At least in this one they are wearing the same sweater!

Mark is one of the most AmAZiNg slalomers ever. Really. So fun to watch. We had a blast boating despite the water being a little chilly.

The girlies even behaved with their fabulous life jackets on. :-)

(though my camera was being funky!)

We waded our feet... laid out... got some sun...

Played outside a lot... Evie LOVED being outside since the weather was so much warmer than where they are from.

Went to the park lots... the girls loved sliding down the slides and running across the playground ramp.

They also LOVED LOVED playing in the sand... eating the sand. :-) Swinging on the swings...

We did fit in some shopping and wiped the girlies out! Last Chance and H&M were good to us. :-)

The girls drank their sippy's together... did everything together!

We even met up with Abby and Chris briefly! The boys went to Priesthood Session and the girlies went to Rain Forest Cafe. The kiddos favorite. (I will have to fix these huge pics! Don't know what's going on with them right now...)

After dinner the kiddos rode the carasel and got an icee... so fun to get to see Abby!

They also came to one of Mia's soccer games, Allie and Evie rode the carosel at the mall, came to church with us a few times... went on quite a few frozen yogurt runs... ate lots of popsicles... the boys watched a few good movies (Ger was thrilled to have someone around to watch a good movie with since I always fall asleep!)... went out for sushi... had a girls lunch... Melissa helped me throw a HUGE RS night on healthy cooking/eating... We laughed a lot.... Had a few dance parties... And Mark even scored a huge package of gum from the Trident Vitality mobiles for being so hot! Just a fun fun time with them. They are totally easy going but always up for anything fun! And Mark was amazing- he totally updated and dejunked all our computers, hooked us up with a new router, changed light bulbs, cleaned out drains, we kept insisting he stop but he was such a huge help in doing stuff Ger just doesn't get to. Melissa cooked and cleaned and babysat and even helped Mia pick out all her fabric and patterns for her two baptism dresses! We so appreciate all they did... and miss them like crazy! Allie loved having a buddy around so we can't wait to get together with them again! We love you Feils!

Greek Veggie Salad

Whew! It's definitely summer and hot. We love a fresh yummy salad with dinner... which is usually something thrown on the grill these days! This greek salad is one of our favorites and super fast to throw together. You can also make it a full meal deal by topping it with grilled chicken or shredded Costco chicken! Served with crusty bread or pitas... some fresh fruit... and it's a quick no cook meal!

Greek Veggie Salad

• 1 large cucumber, chopped
• 2 roma (plum) tomatoes, chopped
• 1 (5 ounce) jar pitted kalamata olives (I use black olives)
• 1 (4 ounce) package feta cheese, crumbled
• 1/2 red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 bell pepper, sliced thinly and halved
• 1/2 (10 ounce) package baby greens
• 1/2 (10 ounce) package romaine lettuce leaves
• 
  
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (Good without this too!)
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 1/2 cups red wine vinegar

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix the cucumber, tomatoes, olives, feta cheese, red onion, bell pepper, baby greens, and romaine. In a separate bowl, mix the olive oil, garlic powder, oregano, basil, mustard, lemon juice, and red wine vinegar. Pour dressing over the vegetables, and toss to coat.

Back 2 Reality

BAH! It's always hard to get back to reality after a fun family vaca...

We spent the last 5 days just down river from Havasu! With Zach and Roxy and Chris. It was heavenly... really.

The water was pretty glassy in the morning...

And our place was right on the river so we could take off from our dock whenever we wanted. Literally. Nothing like dock starting!

Allie was in heaven too- loved the water and loved the all the play time!

We did foam bath soap which was a hit as always...

We LOVED getting lots of time with Roxy and Zach- we just don't get to see them enough!

The kids did not get enough time on the water- despite us going 24-7! This was the first year they kept begging for more! We loved it. So glad they were loving every second.

Tube wars were definitely one of the highlights! My cheeks killed from laughing so hard.

The kids got along GREAT and it was such great family time together... Lots of time swimming and jumping off the tubes tied to the dock.

Lots of time surfing!

And plenty of time to recover inside from the sun and fun with foosball!

And playing on the iPads! Abby we missed you like crazy! She was running girls camp but we're glad Chris could make it. More pics coming soon- this is just a handful of about 700! Ha.

But for now it's off to the dishes and laundry... :-)

4th of July Coming Right up!

The 4th of July is already on our radar. ;-) Picked up the kiddos outfits for the 4th at Old Navy this morning... and loved this idea I just happened to see online for the 4th!

Download 13 different templates and print at home or at Costco or wherever you get your pics developed... then pick up some star beads for tokens... and you've got a fun 4th of july game to play! I thought this would be super fun to copy to take to the picnic we have while we wait for the fireworks. ;-)

http://www.makoodle.com/4th-of-july-bingo/

This would also make a super cute gift in a cellophane bag for friends or neighbors!

SchOOLs Out!

FREEDOM!

This pic is of the girlies heading home on the last day of school- yahoo!

Sydney and Mia had the most AMAZING teachers this year- I felt very blessed. Both girlies loved them- they were caring teachers who made learning exciting and made the girls feel special. They praised them for their good work and sent home notes (Happy Grams) with them telling them if they did an especially good job that day. A fabulous teacher really makes all the difference in the school experience. Franklin has exceptional teachers who really believe in the curriculum and wants the child to succeed- that says a lot... anyways!

Sydney and Mrs. Hofmann...

Mia and Mrs. Jacks...

I tried to go to lunch at school every week if not every other week with the girls and LOVED it. Such a fun time to chat with them and their friends- loved seeing how they interacted with others... and wow. Heard some great stories- very insightful! ha. Great chance for Colby to practice eating lunch at school since he will be doing that next year! woah.

The kids helped put together their teachers gifts- Bath and Body Works Americana soap and mini Anti-bacterial hand gels with a giftcard to Wildflower- yum. They wrote really sweet cards and put everything in the bags- I just tied them with a ribbon and they turned out really cute I thought.

I had to show this- Sydney's notes are the most sincere and sweet! She wrote some of the cutest things so I had to take a picture of them before we gave them away. I think the cards made the whole gift! If you can't afford anything else for a thank you, a heart felt card says it all.

Gave just soaps to some aides...

Ta-da! Stuck the card in the back of the bag so it wouldn't get lost or ripped off... Last time I was at Bath and Body the soaps were on sale for $3! Then you can usually get a $10 off coupon so really it was a great deal.

Allie was busy getting into clean laundry while the kiddos created their teachers gifts. :-) Yes, she did the underwear on her head by herself! Too funny. I would have thought it was Colby had I not seen her do it myself. ;-)

The school has and Arts and Academics Night where you go and see their work from the year and have an awards assembly for poetry/art/writing contest. This is some of Sydney's work. The kiddos really amaze me with what they have learned and how hard they work. Sydney has about 45-60 minutes of homework a night and Mia has 35-40 minutes. I have had to google some things a few times to help them! Sydney won 2nd place in the Writing Competition and 2nd place in the Short Story Competition!!! I am sad I didn't take a picture of her with her ribbons... but Yay Sydney!

Sydney has such cute friends... but yes the drama starts at a young age with girlies so gear up if you've got one! :-) It was a great year of school- great grades, lots of fun, fabulous teachers... but a break is much needed. The summer is packed with swim lessons, Musical Theater Camp, Cooking Classes, Football Clinics, Soccer Camp, gymnastics, piano, homework every day at home, chores, and some fun Vacas! So they are keeping busy and loving playing with friends more and swimming 2 or 3 times a day... crazy fun kids. It's fun to have them home!